Delhi gang-rape: 6th accused sent to 12-day judicial custody

New Delhi: One of the six accused in December 16 gang-rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student, who died on Saturday, was remanded in judicial custody for 12 days by a Delhi court.

Akshay Singh alias Thakur, who was the last one to be arrested in the case, was produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma after expiry of his day-long police custody.

"He (Akshay) is remanded to judicial custody. Let he be produced on January 9," the court said after the police did not seek his further custody.

Akshay had been remanded in police custody yesterday for a day to recover the remaining case property and clothes which he and other arrested five co-accused were wearing while allegedly gang-raping and brutally assaulting the victim in a moving bus here on the fateful night.

After the day-long custody, the police did not seek his further remand as they recovered the articles, which had not been recovered earlier.

The investigating officer in the case told the court that they have seized the clothes of the accused worn on the night of incident and also the mobile of the girl and ATM card of her male friend and other valuables at the instance of accused Akshay.

It also said the victim`s male friend, a 28-year-old software engineer had identified the valuables, which were robbed from them after the incident.

The police told the court that the boy had even identified the ring, which his female friend was wearing on that night.

Akshay was arrested on December 21 and underwent test identification parade (TIP) on December 26, during which the victim`s male friend had also identified him as one of the persons involved in the incident.

All the five accused are facing charges under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 365 (kidnapping or abducting), 376 (2)(g) (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 394 (hurting in committing robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

The proceedings relating to the sixth accused are being undertaken separately before the Juvenile Justice Board as he is a minor.

Both the victims, the girl and her male friend, who had boarded the chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka here to Palam around 9.45 PM on December 16, were assaulted with an iron rod by the men after the two resisted before they were dumped on the road side near Mahipalpur flyover in South Delhi, police had said.